LEVELS OF SHADE
 |
| Photo By T. Engberg With NPS |
Bob Westerfield, UGA Extension Horticulturist, defines levels
of shade as follows.
Full sun
|
unfiltered sunshine all day (eight to ten hours)
|
Light shade
|
shaded two to four hours during the heat of the day
|
Partial shade
|
area receives four to five hours of shade
|
Filtered shade
|
may be shaded all day but shafts of sun light squeeze
through the branches
|
Full shade
|
shade lasts all day, some reflective light present
|
Dense shade
|
day long dark shade with no reflective light
|
Sunshine abundance differs across every garden and
landscape. It is important to determine how much sun each area of your garden
gets before adding new plants or creating a landscape design. When you’re
calculating the amount of light your garden gets, don’t forget shrubs, trees
and structures will provide shade in different places at different times of day.
It is also important to note that the afternoon sun is stronger than the morning
sun and is often not tolerated well by plants needing partial shade, especially
here in Georgia.
The easiest way to determine how much light your garden
gets is to spend a day monitoring light levels. Start at 10 AM and check every
two hours to see what level of shade you see in your garden. If you don’t have
time to calculate the light in your garden over a full year, just remember that
the sun remains closer to the horizon during winter and will cause even small
structures to cast large shadows.
Other Resources:
Reference: Shade
- Defining Levels of By Walter Reeves
